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- iHaveNet.com: Travel
My Airline's Giving Me the Cold Shoulder
By Christopher Elliott - The Travel Troubleshooter
Jessie Lourey books seven tickets on
Q: I recently bought seven plane tickets on
Half an hour later,
Here's the problem: I don't have a ticket, but it looks like I still have the first $6,897 on my credit card. And my credit card company says the airline is the only one who can cancel it.
I've called
A:
Applying pressure to
I've been there. I had to pay twice for a hotel room and when I tried to remove one of the charges, a company representative had no idea what to do. By the time I phoned my bank, it had sorted itself out. The phantom charge, which was nothing more than an electronic hiccup, had disappeared.
Fortunately, federal law is on your side when it comes to these kinds of mistakes. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you're protected from charges that list the wrong date or amount or for goods and services you didn't accept or weren't delivered as agreed. So the worst-case scenario for this billing error is that you have to dispute this charge with your credit card, in which case you'll win.
As for the seven tickets that now cost another $100, that's another issue. It appears
Why didn't it? Probably because you called them instead of sending an email. A brief, polite email to america@icelandair.is that explained your problem probably would have resulted in the reinstatement of your original tickets. Sure, it takes a little bit longer than a call, but it's almost always more effective than picking up the phone.
Next time, you might want to consider using a travel agent. A travel professional may be able to find a better deal and you would be protected from a double-billing error or an accidental cancellation.
I contacted
Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine.
© CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
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Vacation Travel - My Airline's Giving Me the Cold Shoulder